Inferno
by Midnight Critic
Summary: Shuuko never wanted to recount the events of that night, but a single trigger can cause that all to change. Written for a forum contest.


**Some obligatory notes:**

**The characters within are all property of Capcom; I claim no ownership. The only thing I own is the concept behind the story.**

**Story originally published May 16, 2006. Because I apparently cannot post a link, I'll post it in my profile somewhere. This story was originally written for a contest on the aforementioned forum, in which it took third place. I hope you enjoy it.**

_Begin_  
The sun shone brightly over Akihara as the girl wandered the streets. Her purple bangs drooped to the side of her head as she sighed dejectedly. Few people noticed the girl when she was in a good mood--even fewer when she was shrouded in miasma. She bore the weight of experience; she bore the weight of her family and the weight of the hopes of her siblings--whose hopes had nearly been extinguished that fateful night when her parents fell.

She found that walking aimlessly through the town on a calm day was quite therapeutic--it helped her clear her mind as well as gather her thoughts and plan her next move. Today would have been no different, had she not drifted past the Higure-ya...

As she passed by the small building, she noted the usual--racks of battlechips, an oversized cutout of Numberman, a tag that claimed a forty percent discount, likely as the week's promotion. Her eyes glossed over the display and inexplicably stopped on a small placard placed in the window.

"Hmm," Shuuko thought to herself. "That card wasn't there before. 'Help Wanted?'" she said to herself. She read the placard more closely and noted that interviews were being done on a walk-in basis. She shrugged to herself, and was just about to continue her aimless wandering when she stopped to take a second look. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity? Her brothers had always told her that having a job was one of the finer points in life, and could turn out to be quite rewarding. Besides, having a couple hundred extra zenny every week was never a bad thing, and could possibly help to improve her situation.

She stepped towards the door and froze. She wrinkled her nose, noting a peculiar odor in the air. As she scanned her immediate area, trying to locate the source of the odor, she stepped back in shock as she saw a thin grey veil come out from under the door. Mustering what courage she had, she opened the door, and gaped in horror.

The room that she had entered was ablaze. The furniture burnt fiercely, and the searing heat made it quite difficult to breathe. She scanned the room, trying in desperation to find an escape route, when she noticed a person curled up on the floor. He was barely two--sleeping soundly, oblivious of the roaring fires that threatened to consume him. Shuuko gasped, and dashed to the prone form of her younger brother. She knelt by his side and shook him, yelling "Wake up! Wake up!" over the roaring fire.

The small child stirred, and eventually parted his eyelids. "Shu--Shuu-chan?" he asked, right before beginning to sob. The blisteringly hot air raged around them, and Shuko knew that her only chance was to make a break for it. She took her younger brother by the hand, and began to negotiate the narrow fire-free path that led to the door that she came from. She walked, leading her wailing brother by the hand as she carefully sidestepped around what was once an armchair. She winced as the embers from the burning furniture singed her face, and she began to cough uncontrollably as the smoke became thicker and more corrosive. Shuuko felt her lungs burning as she struggled to drag her brother to safety.

Even though she was a few yards from the door, the door may as well have been a few light years away. Shuuko dropped to her knees, trying to breathe what dwindling oxygen was left in the room. She crawled along the floor, inching towards the door, all the while keeping a firm grip on her screaming brother. All the while the fire raged, almost as if laughing at some poor girl's attempt to escape unscathed. Shuuko struggled along the floor, continuing her fight to reach the door and safety. Even though her entire body ached, her lungs burned, and her sight began to fail her as the smoke continued to grow thicker, she was determined to make it out alive. Eventually, her strength failed her. There was no more to get her to the door. With her last iota of energy, she futilely reached out for the door, which lay no more than nine inches away. She tried to open her mouth to cry out in desperation, but no sound emerged. She heard the door crashing in and the muffled sound of "Hey, are you okay, de masu?" before she passed out.

* * *

Higure had just come out of the back room with a small box of chips that needed to be shelved when he noted the violet-haired girl's prone form, writhing on his store's floor. He immediately released the box and tended to the young girl.

"Are you okay, de masu?" he inquired, while shaking Shuko. It appeared as if she was having a nightmare, but her eyes were wide open and her face flushed. After a few seconds of silence, Higure picked up the child and carried her in his arms into the back room.

When the girl came around, she noticed that she was sitting upright. A mug of tea was placed at her side, which she began to drink speedily. She was too busy restoring herself and regaining her bearings to notice the tall man kneel by her side.

"I see you've come to." said Higure. "What happened? When I saw you, you were out cold on the floor, sweating as if you've spent the last hour in an oven. I think I should call an ambulance, de masu..."

"Please don't," squeaked Shuuko weakly. "Please. I need a little time. Just let me get my bearings first."

Higure looked on, and his gaze softened. "Alright," he conceded, and stepped back to the counter. He took a good look at the girl's face, which prompted a squint.

"Shuuko? Is that you?" he inquired. He adjusted his glasses to make sure that he was seeing accurately. "It is you, de masu! What happened?"

Shuuko sat at the table, remaining motionless. She fought to choke back sobs as she looked up at her supposed savior, and hopefully her future employer. This was a side of her personality that she had never revealed to anyone outside of her family, and she definitely didn't want to reveal it at this point. What would Higure think? Surely he wouldn't hire a girl he found sobbing, collapsed in his store?

Higure looked on, determined to help. "Alright," he began, "you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But if you want to talk about it, let me know." He returned to the counter, where he had placed a kettle, ready to make another glass of tea.

"Hig..Higure-san?" Shuuko choked.

Higure spun around and looked at the girl. "What is it? Are you ready to tell me what happened?" This elicited a nod from Shuuko. Higure walked over to the table and pulled up a chair. "Okay. Let's start from the beginning. What happened?" he asked for the third time that day.

Shuuko inhaled deeply, and began to speak. "I was just walking around, and I had just passed your shop when I had smelled something burning."

"Burning?!" Higure gasped. "You smelled the pancakes?!" He motioned over to the stovetop, where a stack of blackened discs lay heaped on a plate.

"No, no. I think I know what happened. Well..." Shuuko began. She did not want to tell anyone about what happened that night three years ago, but she realized that it would have to come out eventually, and Higure seemed like the kind of man who would listen.

"...you know how I live with my aunt?" Shuuko began. Higure nodded. "Well, the reason that I do is that...my parents were killed when my house caught on fire." As soon as she finished that statement, a new torrent of tears escaped from her eyes.

Higure looked in shock, and offered a dish towel to comfort the crying girl. "I never knew." he stated solemnly. "I'm sorry."

Shuuko continued. "I was on my way back to the living room, where my youngest brother was playing around. I smelled something strange, and I saw smoke coming out from under--under--under the door." She paused, took another breath, and continued. "I remember the flames, the intense heat of the room. Those made me feel like I couldn't breathe. My brother had taken a nap, and was lying in the center of the room. I went to him, picked him up, and began to drag him out of the burning room, but I didn't make it."

She paused for a moment, and continued.

"The next thing I knew I was outside, and I had to get back to my mom. I didn't see her outside with me. If I had only gotten to them...if I had not collapsed in there..." she trailed off.

Higure frowned. "Surely you don't think it was your fault that your parents died that night?"

Shuuko looked up. "The firemen called me a hero for saving my younger brother. Some hero I was!" she shouted in exasperation. "If I couldn't get my parents out alive, how could I be a hero?"

Higure frowned once more. "You did what you could--and from what you've told me, I think you did a marvelous thing in saving your brother. You saved two lives that day. You shouldn't blame yourself for something you couldn't do. I don't know what happened back there, but it seems like you did a good job."

Higure sighed as Shuuko continued to calm herself. It saddened him to see someone like this--most of the people who came into his shop were quite jubilant, whether because they were in awe of the latest Shopper's Special, proud because they managed to beat their best friend for the first time that day with the chips that he lent out, or just proud of making some extra zenny from selling off some useless or outdated chips. Whenever he saw this girl around, she was never in such a mood. Now he understood why--this girl was a wreck. The last time she came into his shop, one of the side racks had broken. Even though Higure knew that the rack was old, and would give way any day, Shuuko firmly believed that it her own fault, despite repeated attempts to convince her otherwise. Higure was almost too deep in thought to notice that Shuuko had given him a hug.

Higure looked on in surprise, but that gaze quickly dissipated as he warmly returned the embrace. "It's okay, it's okay. It's kinda lonely being in here alone with just Numberman to talk to, de masu. If you ever need someone to listen, just come by and ask."

Shuuko looked up at him and gave him a slight smile. She walked out the door and was just about to head back to the streets when she stopped suddenly. "Actually," she began, "there was something I wanted to ask you about."

"Oh?"

"Are you still looking for help?" she asked as she motioned towards the sign in the window.  
_Fin_


End file.
